Pony News

Out of a field of more than 100 ponies, Lauren Padilla and Highland Farm, LLC’s So Enchanted received the Grand Pony Hunter Champion title on Saturday, October 9, at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, held at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD.

Virginia is the promised young revelation of Italian dressage, after the last European pony championship, which has just been held in Poland. She reported the percentage of 73.829% in the Pony team test, finishing in ninth place in the ranking. Read the interview with the up and coming young rider.

Lexington, Ky. - On Saturday at the 2021 USEF Pony Finals presented by Honor Hill Farms (Pony Finals), Alexis Bauman and Miracles Happen won the USEF Pony Jumper Individual National Championship following and exciting jump-off. The hunter competition concluded today with three new champions in the Large Green Pony Hunter National Championship, 2020 Large Green National Championship, and Medium Regular Pony Hunter National Championship presented by Pegasus Show Stable & San Marco Training. Emma Dyson and D’Artagnan were named 2021 Overall Regular Pony Hunter Grand Champions. Maddie Tosh and Brixton were named 2021 Overall Green Pony Hunter Grand Champions. Lily Epstein (Coral Gables, Fla.) and Pepsi, her 2014 Welsh pony gelding, were named the 2020 Small Green Pony Hunter National Champions.

Lexington, Ky. – The 2021 USEF Pony Finals presented by Honor Hill Farms ended on Sunday afternoon with the Marshall & Sterling/USEF Pony Medal Finals in the Rolex Stadium. A total of 184 young athletes rode over Jasen Shelley’s course in hopes of winning the coveted title. A total of 20 riders with 4 from the small section, 11 from the medium section, and 5 from the large section returned for the second round over another solid course. Judges Lynn Forgione and Daniel Robertshaw required no further testing, and Olivia Sweetnam was declared the 2021 champion.

Fifty-seven riders competed over the first round track consisting of 10 fences designed by Tom Carlson. The class was set at three separate heights for 13 larges, 27 mediums, and 17 smalls. Once the classic round was complete, the top 12 combinations were called back to navigate the handy round.

Rags to Riches The first USEA Pony of the Year award was presented in 2007 to the legendary Theodore O’Connor (Witty Boy x Chelsea’s Melody), a Thoroughbred/Anglo-Arab gelding ridden by Karen O’Connor and owned by the Theodore O’Connor Syndicate. Now...

The benefits to young people of close contact with horses and ponies are well known and the soon-to-be-launched Newmarket Pony Academy (NPA) will give young people in and around Newmarket the opportunity to make the most of these benefits. Despite...

Live Oak International has announced the decision to cancel the 2021 edition of its combined driving event and FEI CSI3* jumping competition, which were scheduled to take place in March. The competition organizers cited uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nine combinations began their national championship experience by completing the FEI Pony Rider Team Test of the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship.

The majority of competition organizers and participants are complying with requirements. However, instances of non-compliance at shows continues to be an issue.